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Midland Remembers: Yesterdays Depot a dream come true

Virginia Florey

Published 7:00 pm, Tuesday, February 4, 2003

Daily News photos/RYAN WOOD

"I just love people," said Wanda Lewis, owner of Yesterdays Depot, explaining why she opened her restaurant.

In 1870, railroad tracks of the Flint and Pere Marquette Railroad reached Coleman and a man named Jonathan Pierce got off the train to see what the country was like. Impressed, he decided to stay and set up a temporary home in the shanty built by the railroad company for the men working on the railroad. His wife remained in the Village of Midland City, cooking food for the railroad crew and sending it to Coleman each day.

About the same time, Seymour Coleman had 160 acres of his 1,000 acres surveyed and platted, and gave the railroad half of the town site, providing that the railroad company would build and maintain a depot there.

The railroad tracks are no longer taking trains in and out of the Coleman. The Pere Marquette Rail-Trail of Mid-Michigan has replaced the tracks. And the train depot, once in danger of being torn down, is enjoying a second life as a restaurant named Yesterdays Depot. Its owner is Wanda Lewis. This is Wandas story and how her dream of converting an old railroad depot into a restaurant came true.

Wandas grandfather, John Cozat, came to the Coleman area in the early 1900s and married Lena Fike. They had seven children: Melvin (Wandas father), William, Gordon, Kenneth, Elizabeth, Wilma and Vera. The Cozat family settled first along Battle Road, then bought a farm along Coleman Road. Both farms still remain in the Cozat family. The farm along Coleman Road is owned today by Ruth Cozat and her two sons, David and Gary Cozat. (Ruth married Gordon.) Gary lives on the original farm along Battle Road.

Melvin Cozat married Bonnie Koontz, the daughter of Charles and Pearl Koontz, members of another longtime Coleman family. They had two children: Wanda and Melvin Jr. Wanda was the oldest grandchild in the Cozat family and her memories of growing up in an extended family of grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins continue to influence her life to a large degree.

Speaking of her grandfather, John Cozat, Wanda says, "Grandpa was a definite influence in my life, always so positive. He always encouraged me no matter what I said. It was, You can do it." That encouragement from him and many others eventually paved the way for Wanda to realize her dream of buying the defunct railroad depot and opening up her own restaurant.

Wanda says, "I never went to see Grandma and Grandpa that he didnt say, Put the coffee on. Dont we have some cookies?"

Growing up in an extended family in a small town meant closeness and seeing the relatives frequently. Ice cream made by hand in an old ice cream machine was a Sunday ritual. The eggs, cream and vanilla would be put in the metal container, then plopped into the larger tub where ice was packed around it for freezing. Turning the handle was a slow process until the ice cream was frozen but with everyone taking turns, it seemed to go fast.

Wanda says, "I always had somebody there for me. My Grandma Koontz lived next door, and if I needed more help, I had another set of grandparents just a mile away from our home. Grandma Cozat was always baking and cooking. She never could make a small amount. Everything she did was literally perfect: pies, cinnamon rolls, cookies. Everything she did was like something out of Better Homes and Gardens."

In 1966, Wanda graduated from Coleman High School and in February 1972, she married Dennis Lewis in the Prospect Park Church of God in Mount Pleasant.

Typical of small town living, she and Dennis knew each other from grade school into junior high and high school. Dennis and Wanda had one child, a son they named Corey.

She and Dennis owned the Lewis Bros. A/C Refrigeration and Heating firm in Coleman but she always made sure that she was home at 3 oclock when Corey got out of school.

In 1997, work began to remodel Coleman's old depot into a restaurant. Yesterdays Depot now sits along the Pere Marquette Rail-Trail of Mid-Michigan on Railway Street in Coleman.

About 20 years ago, Wanda got the idea of converting the deserted train depot into a restaurant. But acquiring it was a different story. When the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad became inactive, the land and the depot were given back to the State of Michigan.

Eventually, the state gave the land and the depot to Midland County, then Midland County gave it to Coleman. Finally, the land went on sale to anyone who wanted to buy a huge, dilapidated building that didnt seem to be good for much. Wanda Lewis thought differently.

She had her cousin, Keith Cozat, who owns a construction company, look it over and after he did, he said, "Wanda, we need to talk. I can build you a bigger and better restaurant for the same amount of money." But that wasnt how Wanda saw the old depot.

She said to Keith, "Get started." So he did. Some 50 feet of the old depot was taken off and moved a block down the street and put on a foundation. The remaining 75 feet of the old depot was gutted, renovated and a large kitchen was added. Today, its Wandas dream come true: a thriving restaurant business in the town she loves.

Typically, the restaurant is staffed by family. Wandas mother Bonnie and Aunt Wilma Sysak do the baking, brother Melvin makes the soup each day, Aunt Liz Long makes the salads, niece Shannon (Cozat) Zietz is one of the waitresses.

Sitting at a small table covered with a red and white checked tablecloth, a cup of coffee with a piece of cornbread right out of the oven, we finish the interview.

Wanda says, "I had the most normal childhood that anyone could imagine. I cant think of a thing I would change."

This is the sign on the restaurant that is housed in the former railroad depot.